Vinson Highlands, Antarctica, 1:150000 Explorer

At 16,050', Mt. Vinson is the highest point in Antarctica, but good luck trying to get to it - it's in a very remote area of the continent, and wasn't even discovered until 1958. It was first summitted in 1966 by an American team. Accurate measurements of its height were finally performed by an Australian-Chilean team in 2004. In total, 1400 people have attempted the summit, one of the least-technical and most remote of the Seven Summits.

The satellite photography that supplied the color overlay for this model is from the ESA's Sentinel-2 orbiter, and was captured near the height of the Antarctic summer: January 24, 2017. Geometry for this model uses newly-released elevation data from polar research, and is at least ten times the resolution and accuracy of the best previously available data. Enjoy this new model, the most accurate 3D model of Vinson every created.

The Explorer series of TinyMtn models is designed to break our usual impression of mountains. We generally see mountains one at a time, from a distance, and from the ground. While all TinyMtn models give you a fresh perspective on any one peak, the Explorer series presents mountains in identical scale, and shifted up so that sea level is at the bottom of the base. Thus, when you set two Explorer models next to each other, you will immediately notice which is taller, which rises more from its base, which is more massive, and so on. Plus, all Explorer models come in full color, making them just that much more realistic.

Model scale is 1:150000
Model measures 13.3 x 17.3 x 3.2 cm (5.2" x 6.8" x 1.28")
Original area is approximately 20 by 26 km
Altitudes covered: 1200m to 4892m
There is no vertical exaggeration applied to this model. This is a true-to-life scale model of a real place.

Click here for more sizes.
Click here for other 1:150000 models in the Explorer series.

TinyMtn models are most affordable in the "Sandstone" and "White Natural Versatile Plastic" materials. This model is in "Sandstone," which is a glued gypsum material. When you receive the model it will be ready for display, though it may smell funny and need some time to air out. "Sandstone" models are much more brittle than "Versatile Plastic" models, but feel more like light stone. Do not soak it in water, though you can safely seal it with Polycrylic or a similar water-based clear spray sealant. Read more about this popular material here.

All TinyMtn models have hollow bottoms - this is to save on weight, and thus cost. Many larger models also have extra flanges on their undersides to increase rigidity and strength. To make the model more solid, you should feel free to carefully pour resin into the bottom cavity, or glue a properly-sized slab of wood or another material into it.

These models have been optimized for the above materials, and are not offered in other materials for strength or cost reasons. If you need one in another material, please tinymtnbiz@gmail.com and we'll do our best to fulfill your request.

(C) 2018 TinyMtn (TM)
Model created using GDAL, NetPBM, Gmsh, Carve, MeshLab, and other custom software
DEMs provided by the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center and the Polar Geospatial Center under NSF-OPP awards 1543501, 1810976, 1542736, 1559691, 1043681, 1541332, 0753663, 1548562, 1238993 and NASA award NNX10AN61G. Computer time provided through a Blue Waters Innovation Initiative. DEMs produced using data from DigitalGlobe, Inc.
Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data from 2016
Copernicus Open Access Hub is https://scihub.copernicus.eu/dhus
Source of digital elevation data: Viewfinder Panoramas
Viewfinder Panoramas provides cleaned and modified versions of DEM data from ASTER GDEM, SRTM, and local sources. Data used without permission.
The Viewfinder Panoramas home page is https://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/